Melania Trump delivers statement at White House denying ties to Epstein and knowledge of his crimes

First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Washington (AP) — First lady Melania Trump is denying ties to Jeffrey Epstein and knowledge of his sex crimes, saying Thursday that the “stories are completely false” and calling accusations that she was somehow involved “smears about me.”Reading an extraordinary statement at the White House, Melania Trump said she and her attorneys were fighting back against “unfound and baseless lies” in regards to her connections to the late financier, a convicted sex offender who leveraged connections to the rich, powerful and famous to recruit his victims and cover up his crimes. “The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather I reject their mean-spirited attempts to defame my reputation,” she said. First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) First lady Melania Trump speaks to reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. The extraordinary and seemingly out-of-the-blue message came as her husband, President Donald Trump, and his administration had finally seemed to move past more than a year of controversy surrounding Epstein, especially as the Iran war had become all-consuming in Washington. The first lady’s comments almost assuredly served to push the story back into the political spotlight even as the president urged the public and media to move on from the case. The White House account on X reshared a video of the event posted by the first lady’s account, but without added comment. Melania Trump also called on Congress to hold a public hearing centered on survivors of Epstein’s crimes, with a chance to testify before lawmakers and have their stories entered into the congressional record. First lady Melania Trump departs after speaking with reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) First lady Melania Trump departs after speaking with reporters Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Grand Foyer of the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. “Each and every woman should have her day to tell her story in public if she wishes,” she said. “Then, and only then, we will have the truth.”Democrats jumped on Melania Trump’s comments, saying they agreed with her call for a congressional hearing. In a social media post, Rep. Robert Garcia, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee that is investigating Epstein, called on the Republican chair of the committee, Rep. James Comer, to schedule a public hearing “immediately.” It was not immediately clear what prompted the first lady to speak out about this issue now. Her calls for the issue to go back to Congress came after federal authorities released millions of pages of documents under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the law enacted after months of public and political pressure that requires the government to open its files on the late financier and his confidant and onetime girlfriend, Maxwell. Lawmakers complained when the Justice Department made only a limited release last month, but officials said more time was needed to review additional documents that were discovered and to ensure no sensitive information about victims was released.Melania Trump said in her statement that she was not friends with Epstein or his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, but was in overlapping social circles in New York and Florida. She described an email reply she sent to Maxwell as “casual correspondence” without elaborating. “My polite reply to her email doesn’t amount to anything more than a trifle,” she said. Among the documents released by the Justice Department was a brief email from 2002 with the sender and recipient blacked out. It begins, “Dear G!” and ends “Love, Melania,” and compliments the recipient on a magazine article about “JE.”“I know you are very busy flying all over the world,” it says. “How was Palm Beach? I cannot wait to go down. Give me a call when you are back in NY.”That email was sent the same month that a New York Magazine article was published about Epstein in which Trump called the financier a “terrific guy.”Among other documents released was an image from Epstein’s home showing a series of photographs along a credenza and in drawers. In that image, inside a drawer among other photos, was a photograph of Trump, alongside Epstein, Melania Trump and Epstein’s longtime Maxwell.In her comments, the first lady mentioned her husband several times. She said, contrary to some rumors, Epstein did not introduce her to Trump and that she met her future husband at a New York City party in 1998.___Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report. Binkley covers the White House and education policy for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington and joined the AP in 2015. Weissert covers the White House for The Associated Press. He is based in Washington.